DE 101 47 733 disclosed a driver assistance system that supports the operator of an agricultural working machine in the optimization of the working parameters of the working mechanisms. The driver assistance system includes a visual display unit as well as an arithmetic logic unit for processing various sensor signals. The agricultural working machine, which is designed as a combine harvester, includes a large number of working mechanisms, e.g., a header, a threshing mechanism, separating mechanisms, and at least one cleaning mechanism, which are coupled to a large number of sensing mechanisms capable of detecting working parameters of the working mechanisms as well as efficiency parameters of the agricultural working machine, such as grain loss, grain quality, and tailings quantity.
The information that is ascertainable using the sensing mechanisms is forwarded to the central arithmetic logic unit which derives information from these signals that may be visualized in the display device. The visualized information includes working parameters of the agricultural working machine, such as cylinder speed, cleaning fan speed, crop material throughput, and concave width, as well as efficiency parameters such as the grain loss from the cleaning and separating mechanisms. To optimize the various working parameters, a method is provided in DE 101 47 733, in which, in a first method step, the operator guides the agricultural working machine through the stand to be harvested at a ground speed that is appropriate for the expected crop material throughput, thereby ensuring that the combine harvester is acted upon by an approximately consistent quantity of crop material within a certain time period. The operator must wait until the combine harvester has reached a state of equilibrium in which an approximately consistent, good or bad working result is attained. This working result is recorded, and it is visualized to the operator in the display unit. If the working result is unsatisfactory, the operator of the combine harvester makes repeated changes to a promising working parameter of a working mechanism, and, each time, waits for the combine harvester to reach a state of equilibrium using the modified working parameter. All of the working results are recorded as a function of time, thereby enabling the operator to identify the specific value of the working parameter at which the best working result was attained. This specific value is then used to adjust the particular working mechanism, thereby ensuring that an improved working result of the agricultural working machine is ultimately attained.
A method of this type has the main disadvantage that a relatively long period of time is required before the various working parameters of the combine harvester function within an optimized parameter range, since the disclosed adjustment procedure must be implemented for every working parameter. In addition, in the case of an adjustment method structured in this manner, performing optimization rapidly and successfully is dependent on the level of knowledge of the operator of the agricultural working machine, since the various working parameters influence one another via highly complex interactions.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,406,964 disclosed a driver assistance system for an agricultural working machine such as that disclosed in DE 101 47 733 that is interactive using natural language on a visual display connected to an arithmetic logic unit. The system displays a sequence of information screens to assist the operator in identifying operating efficiency parameters that need improvement.
In the system, the operator identifies an operating efficiency that the operator wishes to improve, such as grain loss, grain quality, or tailings quantity. On a subsequent screen, the driver assistance system responsively suggests one or more quality criteria. These quality criteria are based upon the operating efficiency selected by the operator. The operator responsively selects one of the quality criteria. In response to this selection, the driver assistance system works through a critical solution path and determines a new setting of a parameter of a working mechanism and suggests this new setting to the operator. If the operator accepts the setting, the driver assistance system then commands the working mechanism to the new setting and waits for the system to reach a steady state. Once the system has reached a steady state, the system then asks the operator whether the system is operating satisfactorily. If the operator indicates that the system is not operating satisfactorily, the driver assistance system checks to determine whether any further proposed solutions exist and, if so, suggests that an alternative working parameter be optimized.
One drawback of this driver assistance system is that the system is responsive to only one quality criterion. In many cases, the operator is aware of and would otherwise wish to optimize a plurality of quality criteria simultaneously. However, since only one quality criterion can be presented to the driver assistance system at one time, it is impossible to optimize more than one quality criterion at a time. As a result, the driver must sequentially optimize different quality criteria rather than simultaneously optimizing for several quality criteria. This delays the optimization of the agricultural working machine and takes driver attention away from (in this case) the harvesting process.
The object of the present invention, therefore, is to avoid the disadvantages of the related art described above and, in particular, to provide a driver assistance system for optimizing the efficiency of an agricultural working machine which ensures that the agricultural working machine reaches an optimized operating state within the shortest amount of time possible.